Quotes About Authority

Ironsides used to complain about how hard this job was," he grumbled. "You know the worst part about being in charge, Spin?" "No, sir." "Perspective. When you're young, you can assume that everyone older than you has life figured out. Once you get command yourself, you realize we're all just the same kids wearing older bodies.

What is happening? The king put Dalinar's heir in here?" "The king didn't have anything to do with it," the jailer said. "Brightlord Adolin insisted. So long as you were in here, he wouldn't leave. We tried to stop him, but the man's a prince. We can't storming make him do anything, not even leave. He locked himself away in the cell and we just had to live with it." Impossible.

Manipulation works so well on a personal level, I don't see why it wouldn't be an equally viable national policy.

The law is made by men, so it is not perfect either.

Epics have this habit of treating physics like something that happens to other people, like acne and debt.

Power is an illusion of perception." Shallan frowned. "Don't mistake me," Jasnah continued. "Some kinds of power are real—power to command armies, power to Soulcast. These come into play far less often than you would think. On an individual basis, in most interactions, this thing we call power—authority—exists only as it is perceived.

He moved like some ancient god of lore, presiding over a battlefield of miniature mortals who couldn't see him, but certainly felt his almighty hand. Except, if Dennison was a god, his specialty certainly wasn't war.

These people seek to control the knowledge so that they can profit from it. Profit from the apocalypse itself.

Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Remember, obedience is defiance.

The Librarians control the information... They control what gets read, what gets seen, and what gets learned. Because of that they have power.

Successful leaders all share one common trait—they believe that they can do a better job than the alternatives. Humility is fine when considering your responsibility and duty, but when it comes time to make a decision, you must not question yourself.

People generally don't know what they want, though they almost uniformly hate being told what it should be.

Brother?" Gavilar said. Dalinar turned back and regarded Gavilar, who was bathed by the bleeding light of a fire reaching its end. "Words are important," Gavilar said. "Much more than you give them credit for being." "Perhaps," Dalinar said. "But if they were all-powerful, you wouldn't need my sword, would you?" "Perhaps. I can't help feeling words would be enough, if only I knew the right ones to say.

You have not done the proper paperwork in this kingdom to kill that child

Words are important," Gavilar said. "Much more than you give them credit for being." "Perhaps," Dalinar said. "But if they were all-powerful, you wouldn't need my sword, would you?" "Perhaps. I can't help feeling words would be enough, if only I knew the right ones to say.

A good king is one who is trusted by his people—and one who deserves that trust.

You underestimate the stubbornness a crown can press into a man or woman's mind.

protect us from small-minded men with too much power.

That's the way of most rulership," Ham mused. "What is a government but an institutionalized method of making sure somebody else does all the work?

This isn't your prison. This is mine.

Where once kings and warriors shaped the world, now quiet men in offices will do the same—and do it far, far more effectively.

The most dangerous kind of man is not the one who spent his youth shoving others around. That kind of man gets lazy, and is often too content with his life to be truly dangerous. The man who spent his youth being shoved around, however . . . When that man gets a little power and authority, he often uses it to become a tyrant on par with the worst warlords in history.

One cannot write poems about trees when the forest is full of police.